During the months of June and July, the Foster Care Closet will be moving to a new location. Organizing such a huge undertaking means help given by volunteers is essential. On June 1st five CCK members, Marilyn Napier, Marilyn Scheinost, Sandy Scheinost, Mindy Vyhnalek and Cheryl Ross, volunteered two hours each to help the Foster Care Closet get closer to reaching their goal. Seventy bags of clothes were sorted and bagged by the group in a two-hour timeframe. If the move goes as planned, volunteering at the Foster Care Closet will resume in August. If you are interested in being part of CCK's Foster Care Closet Volunteers, contact Cheryl Ross or Mindy Vyhnalek.
KIWANIS POLLINATOR PLANTING PROJECT
Several Kiwanis Clubs across Lincoln joined together on June 22, 2026 at the request of Lincoln Parks and Rec to install pollinator plants for the Mahoney Inclusive Playground Nature Zone. Volunteers from several Kiwanis Clubs, including CCK's Al and Mindy Vyhnalek, Marilyn Scheinost, Linda and Dave Boeckner and Cheryl Ross, worked for a little over two hours planting various pollinator plants in two areas of the barrier free playground. Parks and Rec provided the plants, gloves and tools and a few volunteers brought their own favorite hand tools.
Lincoln Center Kiwanis, Capital City Kiwanis, Cornhusker Kiwanis, Northeast Kiwanis, Sunrise Kiwanis, Southeast Kiwanis and South Pointe Kiwanis donated funds to help build the inclusive park. The ribbon cutting for Lincoln's newest inclusive playground took place on July 1, 2025.
KEY CLUB ACTIVITIES CONTINUE
It may be summer, but there is still some Key Club news to report. From June 28 to July 5, two East High Key Club members and faculty advisor, Dr. Sarah Staples-Farmer, will take part in the NE-IA District Key Club Pre-convention Tour as well as the Key Club International Convention in Dallas, Texas. At the convention, Andrea Hu will represent NE-IA Key Club District as Governor, and Grace Cai will run for International Trustee for the upcoming year. AND, during the convention, Sarah Staples-Farmer will receive her Key of Honor award which was announced at the NE-IA Key Club District Convention. We look forward to hearing about their experiences when they return.
25 YEARS AGO
The year is 2001. The Capital City Kiwanis Club leased their own building on the Nebraska State Fair grounds, known as the Kiwanis Country Kitchen. Members would rotate working from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for 11 days of the Fair. Most all member would take turns working the kitchen flipping pancakes, sausages, bacon, eggs and coffee. Many members would take vacation time from their jobs just so they could work the kitchen. The Nebraska State Board of Agriculture collected 15% of the gross or $5,000, whichever was larger. The club's net annual income was between $5,000 and $8,000. The Kitchen started in 1967 and was forced to close in 2006 when the State Board wanted the space for something more profitable. Most all of this money is in our Kiwanis Foundation of which we are enjoying the rewards of their hard work today.
000, whichever was larger. The club's net annual income was between $5,000 and $8,000. The Kitchen started in 1967 and was forced to close in 2006 when the State Board wanted the space for something more profitable. Most all of this money is in our Kiwanis Foundation of which we are enjoying the rewards of their hard work today.